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Today In The News
U.S. high school graduation rate reaches new high while Oklahoma rate declines: The U.S. high school graduation rate reached a record high of 83.2 percent last school year, rising from 79 percent four years earlier, the White House announced Monday. In Oklahoma, Tulsa Public Schools has been bucking a statewide trend of declining graduation rates. While the national rate has risen annually over the past several years, Oklahoma’s rate has dipped each year since the 2012-13 school year — the earliest year with state data available since all the states began using a consistent, four-year adjusted measure of high school completion, according to the White House release [Tulsa World].
One-time stipends approved for Oklahoma corrections workers: Thousands of Oklahoma corrections employees could be getting one-time stipends of nearly $1,800 as soon as next month. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections approved the payments at its monthly meeting Tuesday. The money will come from the $10-plus million the agency received in September after a state revenue failure earlier this year. Under the adopted plan, each employee who has been with the agency for at least six months will receive $1,750 [NewsOK].
Audit critical of Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel: A special investigative audit of the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office found repeated examples of financial wrongdoing and actions taken without approval of county commissioners. State Auditor Gary Jones released the 32-page report Tuesday morning. The audit specifically criticizes Sheriff John Whetsel, saying his decision not to pay the jail’s medical bills for months in 2015 could cost county property owners $3.3 million [NewsOK].
Judges on the Ballot in Oklahoma: What you need to know: Oklahoma is one of 39 states where voters have a role in selecting judges. On November 8, Oklahoma voters will decide whether to retain two Supreme Court justices, two Court of Criminal Appeals judges and three Court of Civil Appeals judges. Judicial elections usually don’t attract as much publicity as other races, so we’re taking a look at how judges are chosen, what’s at stake in the elections, and how you can learn about the candidates [OK Policy].
Law Enforcement, Advocates Differ On How To Fix Oklahoma’s ‘Felon Factory’: Oklahoma’s prisons are crowded, and the state continues to incarcerate offenders at the second- highest rate in the nation, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Two state questions on the November 8 ballot aim to ease both of those strains. Carla Quillen started using drugs when she was 17. Before she knew it, she was addicted and selling crack cocaine to support her habit [KGOU]. See OK Policy’s fact sheet on SQ 780 and SQ 781 here.
Health benefits for state workers face rising costs, uncertainty: As health care costs continue to rise, lawmakers admitted Tuesday they’re considering an overhaul of the state’s insurance benefits for employees. “There are heated arguments going on, on both sides of the aisle,” said Sen. Kim David, R-Porter, during a study committee hearing at the Capitol. David said lawmakers are wrestling with “whether the state should be in the insurance business” by continuing to manage its own health care benefits for employees [Enid News & Eagle].
Oklahoma Waiting for Guidance on Workers’ Comp Opt Out Transition: There seems to be more questions than answers as to what happens next in the wake of the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s finding that the opt out portion of the state’s 2013 comprehensive workers’ compensation legislative overhaul is unconstitutional. That’s because the Court has yet to publish its mandate on the Sept. 13 ruling — the document that will outline the steps companies that developed their own employee injury benefit plans must take to become compliant with Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation statutes [Insurance Journal].
States Feel Pressure to Comply With Real ID as Stiff Consequences Loom on Horizon: A looming federal mandate continues to put states on edge and threatens to further complicate air travel in the United States. The so-called Real ID Act was passed in 2005 as part of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations for more consistent identification standards, but implementation of the stricter rules — which includes incorporating anti-counterfeit technology into the card — has been anything but straightforward [GovTech]. Oklahoma’s request for an extension on the Real ID requirements was denied last week [KFOR].
Annual KIDS COUNT Conference slated for Nov. 2-3: The Oklahoma KIDS COUNT Conference – featuring a Harvard University researcher, keynote speakers focusing on equity and disparity concerns, alumni of Oklahoma’s foster care system, early childhood, high-risk families, mental health and substance abuse, plus lively panels – will be held early next month. The annual event is slated Nov. 2-3 at the Nigh Center on the Edmond campus of the University of Central Oklahoma [Chickasha News].
Quote of the Day
“We are running a felon factory in Oklahoma that, in generations to come, will exacerbate the problem we already have.”
-Gene Rainbolt, chairman of BancFirst Corp., on his support for SQ 780 and SQ 781, which aim to reduce the prison population and invest in mental health and substance abuse treatment (Source). See OK Policy’s fact sheet on the justice reform state ballot questions here.
Number of the Day
7
Number of judges that Oklahoma voters will decide whether or not to retain in office in this year’s November election.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Striking new research on inequality: ‘Whatever you thought, it’s worse’: Social mobility, the amount that a typical American moves up or down the economic ladder from where their parents and grandparents stood, has became a major focus of political discussion, academic research and popular outrage in the years since the global financial crisis. While Americans have traditionally seen their country as a place where anyone can make through hard work and a stroke of luck, data collected in the past decade have shown otherwise. Compared with many European countries, for example, few Americans end up with an income or educational level that is substantially different than their parents. Research by economists from Harvard and Berkeley found that fewer than 10 percent of people in the bottom fifth of the wealth distribution will make it into the top fifth [Washington Post].
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